This report provides some practical guidance on how utilities can define their own smart grid vision, identify priorities, and structure investment plans.
... Vea más + While most of these strategic aspects apply to any area of the electricity grid, the document focuses on the segment of distribution. The guidance includes key building blocks that are needed to modernize the distribution grid and provides examples of grid modernization projects. Potential benefits that can be achieved (in monetary terms) for a given investment range are also discussed. The concept of the smart grid is relevant to any grid regardless of its stage of development. What varies are the magnitude and type of the incremental steps toward modernization that will be required to achieve a specific smart grid vision. Importantly, a utility that is at a relatively low level of grid modernization may leap frog one or more levels of modernization to achieve some of the benefits offered by the highest levels of grid modernization. Smart grids impact electric distribution systems significantly and sometimes more than any other part of the electric power grid. In developing countries, modernizing the distribution grid promises to benefit the operation of electric distribution utilities in many and various ways. These benefits include improved operational efficiency (reduced losses, lower energy consumption, amongst others), reduced peak demand, improved service reliability, and ability to accommodate distributed generating resources without adversely impacting overall power quality. Benefits of distribution grid modernization also include improved asset utilization (allowing operators to 'squeeze' more capacity out of existing assets) and workforce productivity improvement. These benefits can provide more than enough monetary gain for electric utility stakeholders in developing countries to offset the cost of grid modernization. Finally the report describes some funding and regulatory issues that may need to be taken into account when developing smart grid plans.
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One out of every three dollars invested abroad in 2012 was originated in multinationals from developing countries. This study sheds light on the characteristics, motivations, strategies, and needs of emerging market investors.
... Vea más + By including information on investors, potential investors, and non-investors, the study identifies differentiating factors among them that are associated with investment decisions. Results show that emerging market investors are active players in international trade markets; they operate predominantly in manufacturing, and are publicly listed and larger than non-investors. They exhibit a strong regional bias: they invest more heavily in neighbors and in other countries in their own regions. Outward FDI from emerging markets is primarily market-seeking. Expanding regional and host markets emerged as the most important factor influencing the location of investments. However, emerging markets' firms face binding costs of investing in distant, culturally dissimilar markets, resulting, in practice in a trade-off between market size and market familiarity. Transaction costs associated with geographical and cultural differences have a greater impact on services sector firms that exhibit a stronger regional bias. Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) partly offset these costs associated with investing in faraway and/or unfamiliar markets. In addition, international trade agreements increase the perceived attractiveness of a host country to potential investors. Political factors constitute binding constraints that deter emerging markets' firms from investing in developing markets. Yet, investors value political stability and transparency more than corruption control, fair and regular elections, and risk of expropriation in the host country. IPAs play only a marginal role in raising awareness of investment opportunities in developing countries, and may be particularly ineffective in many African countries. Nevertheless, IPAs appear to be a widely used and useful resource for investors once they have made the decision to enter a specific market. IPA services tend to be more valuable for smaller and less productive firms. Overall, the new TNCs from emerging economies do not appear to differ dramatically from their predecessors from developed and developing countries in previous waves of OFDI. Results suggest that to attract FDI from emerging economies, countries need to maintain market-friendly, liberal trade and investment policies. In addition, joining international trade and investment agreements can be benefitial to reduce transaction costs associated with cross border investment. Countries also need to provide a stable and predictable political and institutional environment. Last and not least, it is important to revamp IPAs and increase their effectiveness in raising awareness of investment opportunities and meeting investors' needs.
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At the end of 2011, the Indian power sector found itself in financial crisis, just a decade after the 2001 bailout of state electricity boards (SEBs) by the central government.
... Vea más + Bankrupt state power distribution utilities in several states were unable to pay their bills or repay their debts. Despite the passage of the landmark 2003 Electricity Act and implementation of a broad set of reforms over the past decade, the sector today is looking at another rescue from the center, four times larger than before. This financial rescue scheme amounts to about Rs 1.9 trillion ($42 billion) and was instigated by the nonperforming assets of the banks and other financial institutions. The Electricity Act was envisaged to create independent companies functioning on commercial principles, but they are still far away from that goal. This report presents a diagnostic of the financial and operational performance of segments in the power sector value chain between adoption of the Electricity Act, 2003, and 2011, including analysis of the factors that contributed to the recent crisis. The report focuses on efficiency and productivity, whether performance has improved over time, and which states have emerged as performance leaders. Analysis of this kind is not new or unique, but this report aims to integrate historical performance, the current situation, future projections of the impact of worsening sector finances, and the actions that need to be taken to check the downturn. The report draws primarily from utility data collected by the Power Finance Corporation in successive years on utilities operational and financial performance. The Power Finance Corporation data were collated into a single database with the addition of various operational parameters at the plant level and the utility level from the Central Electricity Authority.
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India has led the developing world in addressing rural energy problems. By late 2012, the national electricity grid had reached 92 percent of Indias rural villages, about 880 million people.
... Vea más + In more remote areas and those with geographically difficult terrain, where grid extension is not economically viable, off-grid solutions using renewable-energy sources for electricity generation and distribution have been promoted. The positive results of the countrys rural energy policies and institutions have contributed greatly to reducing the number of people globally who remain without electricity access. Yet, owing mainly to its large population, India has by far the worlds largest number of households without electricity. More than one-quarter of its population or about 311 million people, the vast majority of whom live in poorer rural areas, still lack an electricity connection; less than half of all households in the poorest income group have electricity. Among households with electricity service, hundreds of millions lack reliable power supply.
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The roots signify the origins and initial steps taken to build a coalition and the associated teething problems; the trunk represents efforts toward sustaining the organizations existence and growth; and the branches highlight the collective actions undertaken by the coalition in fulfillment of its aims and objectives.
... Vea más + In preparing this book, and based on their unique experiences, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda respectively focus their chapters on the roots, trunk, and branches. To further the tree analogy, each countrys chapter draws parallels or makes comparisons with what pertains in the other two countries, to show how they benefit from each other in an ongoing knowledge exchange. Chapter two (Putting Down Roots, Tanzania) has three main sections: an overview of the country context and health reform agenda; a discussion of the experiences of MSG-Pharma, Tanzanias multi-stakeholder body, in setting up a coalition, and lessons learned. These outline the reasons leading to the establishment of the multi-stakeholder group and describe how challenges met during its formation stages were overcome. Chapter three (growing a strong trunk, Kenya) provides insights into the approaches employed by Kenyas multi-stakeholder coalition, the Forum for Transparency and Accountability in Pharmaceutical Procurement (FoTAPP), in order to sustain the interest and commitment of key stakeholders. It presents a brief description of the Kenyan context in relation to the pharmaceutical sector, highlighting challenges in the sector, and the importance of a multi-stakeholder coalition amid other reform platforms. Chapter four (branching out and bearing fruits, Uganda) describes the opportunities, challenges, and rewards associated with designing and implementing a joint intervention in furtherance of the goals of the Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA), the coalition in Uganda. It also illustrates how the coalition has been Able to inform policy dialogue and reform efforts in the health sector.
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This is a review of the health financing situation in the Republic of Gabon. The book reviews the situation in the country under the lens of the principles of health financing: revenue mobilization for health, risk pooling, and purchasing services.
... Vea más + The book also estimates the fiscal space in health that is, looking at options that can increase resources for health within a macroeconomic and fiscal context. Universal health coverage has been defined as a situation where all people who need health services (prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative) receive them, without undue financial hardship. Universal health coverage consists of three inter-related components: (i) the full spectrum of quality health services according to need; (ii) financial protection from direct payment for health services when consumed; and (iii) coverage for the entire population. Because of Gabon's commitment to universal health coverage, certain segments are calling for additional resources for this sector. As a result, the country is grappling with the following: (i) how are resources being spent, (ii) is there room for a more efficient allocation of current resources, or (iii) is there an urgent need to mobilize additional resources to meet the goal. This book attempts to diagnose the situation and offer additional information to enlighten and fuel the debate. The book has six chapters: chapter one gives background and objectives. Chapter two provides an overview of the countrys health status and service use patterns. Chapter three provides an overview of health financing systems and outputs. Chapter four provides an overview of the national health insurance and social security (caisse nationale d'assurance maladie et de garantie sociale) (CNAMGS). Chapter five provides fiscal space analysis for health. Finally, chapter six provides the reform issues and policy options in health financing.
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In 2011, Japan celebrated the 50th anniversary of its own achievement of universal health coverage (UHC). On this occasion, the government of Japan and the World Bank conceived the idea of undertaking a multi-country study to respond to this growing demand by sharing rich and varied country experiences from countries at different stages of adopting and implementing UHC strategies, including Japan itself.
... Vea más + This led to the formation of a joint Japan-World Bank research team under the Japan-World Bank partnership program for UHC. The program was set up as a two-year multi-country study to help fill the gap in knowledge about the policy decisions and implementation processes that countries undertake when they adopt UHC goals. This report brings together 10 in-depth studies on different aspects of Japan's UHC experience, using a common framework for analysis focused on the political economy of UHC reform, and the policies and strategies for addressing challenges in health financing and human resources for health. Japan's commitment to UHC played a key role in the country's economic recovery after World War second, and helped ensure that the benefits of economic growth were shared equitably across the population.
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In 2011, Japan celebrated the 50th anniversary of its own achievement of universal health coverage (UHC). On this occasion, the government of Japan and the World Bank conceived the idea of undertaking a multi-country study to respond to this growing demand by sharing rich and varied country experiences from countries at different stages of adopting and implementing UHC strategies, including Japan itself.
... Vea más + This led to the formation of a joint Japan-World Bank research team under the Japan-World Bank partnership program for UHC. The program was set up as a two-year multi-country study to help fill the gap in knowledge about the policy decisions and implementation processes that countries undertake when they adopt UHC goals. This report brings together 10 in-depth studies on different aspects of Japan's UHC experience, using a common framework for analysis focused on the political economy of UHC reform, and the policies and strategies for addressing challenges in health financing and human resources for health. Japan's commitment to UHC played a key role in the country's economic recovery after World War second, and helped ensure that the benefits of economic growth were shared equitably across the population.
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Ethiopia, like most developing countries, has opted to deliver services such as basic education, primary health care, agricultural extension advice, water, and rural roads through a highly decentralized system (Manor 1999; Treisman 2007).
... Vea más + That choice is based on several decades of theoretical analysis examining how a decentralized government might respond better to diverse local needs and provide public goods more efficiently than a highly centralized government. Ethiopia primarily manages the delivery of basic services at the woreda (district) level. Those services are financed predominantly through intergovernmental fiscal transfers (IGFTs) from the federal to the regional and then the woreda administrations, although some woredas raise a small amount of revenue to support local services. Since 2006, development partners and the government have cofinanced block grants for decentralized services through the Promoting Basic Services (PBS) Program. Aside from funding the delivery of services, the program supports measures to improve the quality of services and local governments capacity to deliver them by strengthening accountability and citizen voice.
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The report is organized as follows. Chapter one sets out the strategic context for Iraq, including the evolving political situation, macroeconomic context, and poverty and social conditions.
... Vea más + Chapter two analyzes the trends in, and composition of, public expenditure, both from economic and functional perspectives. This chapter discusses the efficiency of public expenditure in Iraq (that is, through benchmarking as well as direct output comparisons) and identifies, on the basis of analysis, key sectors for further in-depth assessment for the second phase. It also looks at revenue management issues drawing on the Country Economic Memorandum (CEM). Chapter three examines strategic prioritization and budget execution issues in Iraq. In particular, it reviews the national development priorities, as articulated in the National Development Plan (NDP) and poverty reduction strategy (PRS), and examines the strategic orientation of public expenditures, that is, to what extent public expenditure priorities relate to Iraqs development plan. This chapter also focuses on public investment in Iraq, analyzes key issues against efficient and effective use of investment budget, and proposes actions for an effective Public Investment Management (PIM) system. Chapter four analyzes efficiency of public spending in electricity sector and discusses public service delivery issues while chapter five focuses on efficiency and equity issues in public expenditure on health.
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Countries everywhere are divided into two distinct spatial realms: one urban, one rural. Classic models of development predict faster growth in the urban sector, causing rapid migration from rural areas to cities, lifting average incomes in both places.
... Vea más + The process continues until the marginal productivity of labor is equalized across the two realms. The pattern of rising urbanization accompanying economic growth has become one of the most visible and self-evident empirical facts of development across the world, with almost 200,000 people making the rural-to-urban trek every day, according to the United Nations. Cities across the world are powering growth, development, and modernization. The study then takes a close look at Diepsloot, a large township in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Area, to bring out more vividly the economic realities and choices of township residents. Although atypical in many ways, by the virtue of being newer, poorer, and more informal, with a bigger concentration of migrants (many of them foreign nationals), than the historically established townships, Diepsloot also retains many of the economic characteristics of South African townships: Issues of joblessness, uneven access to basic public services, and overwhelming levels of crime and violence are almost as pervasive in Diepsloot as they are in other T&IS. At the same time, an emergent informal sector more visibly pervades the township than seen in the average township, which makes it a particularly useful place to study in order to develop an understanding of the kinds of economic activities that are feasible in townships. It focuses particularly on the nature of business activity in the township, the key investment-climate constraints faced by its firms, income and expenditure patterns across households, and some aggregative social and human indicators. In a first attempt of its kind for a township, the report also develops a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) of Diepsloot for a comprehensive and consistent picture of the place, including the circular flow of income within the township, the nature of its interaction with the rest of the South African economy, and a simple multiplier analysis of its economy.
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Restrictions on economic activity in area C of the West Bank have been particularly detrimental to the Palestinian economy. Area C constitutes about 61 percent of the West Bank territory.
... Vea más + Area C is richly endowed with natural resources and it is contiguous, whereas areas A and B are smaller territorial islands. Mobilizing the area C potential will help a faltering Palestinian economy. Since area C is where the majority of the West Bank's natural resources laid, the impact of these restrictions on the Palestinian economy has been considerable. Thus, the key to Palestinian prosperity continues to lie in the removal of these restrictions with due regard for Israel's security. This report shows that rolling back the restrictions will bring substantial benefits to the Palestinian economy and can usher in a new period of increasing Palestinian gross domestic product (GDP) and substantially improve prospects for sustained growth. This report examines the economic benefits of lifting the restrictions on movement and access as well as other administrative obstacles to Palestinian investment and economic activity in area C. It focuses on the economic potential of area C and does not prejudge the status of any territory which may be subject to negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. The authors examine potential direct, sector-specific benefits, but also indirect benefits related to improvements in physical and institutional infrastructure, as well as spillover effects to other sectors of the Palestinian economy. Realizing the full potential of such investments requires other changes as well - first, the rolling back of the movement and access restrictions in force outside area C, which prevent the easy export of Palestinian products and inhibit tourists and investors from accessing area C; and second, further reforms by the Palestinian authority to better enable potential investors to register businesses, enforce contracts, and acquire finance.
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Climate change is a major source of concern in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and migration is often understood as one of several strategies used by households to respond to changes in climate and environmental conditions, including extreme weather events.
... Vea más + This study focuses on the link between climate change and migration. Most micro-level studies measure climate change either by the incidences of extreme weather events or by variation in temperature or rainfall. A few studies have found that formal and informal institutions as well as policies also affect migration. Institutions that make government more responsive to households (for example through public spending) discourage both international and domestic migration in the aftermath of extreme weather events. Migration is often an option of last resort after vulnerable rural populations attempting to cope with new and challenging circumstances have exhausted other options such as eating less, selling assets, or removing children from school. This study is based in large part on new data collected in 2011 in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Syria, and the Republic of Yemen. The surveys were administered by in-country partners to a randomly selected set of 800 households per country. It is also important to emphasize that neither the household survey results nor the findings from the qualitative focus groups are meant to be representative of the five countries in which the work was carried, since only a few areas were surveyed in each country. This report is organized as follows: section one gives synthesis. Section two discusses household perceptions about climate change and extreme weather events. Section three focuses on migration as a coping mechanisms and income diversification strategy. Section four examines other coping and adaptation strategies. Section five discusses perceptions about government and community programs.
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Ghana has a youthful population of 24 million and has shown impressive gains in economic growth and in poverty reduction over the last two decades.
... Vea más + The necessary sustained growth requires three critical steps: (1) increase productivity in the strategic economic sectors, (2) diversify the economy, and (3) expand employment. Raising the level and range of skills in the country provides a key contribution to these core drivers of sustained growth. Skills development in Ghana encompasses foundational skills (literacy, numeracy), transferable and soft skills, and technical and vocational skills. These skills are acquired throughout life through formal education, training, and higher education; on the job through work experience and professional training; through family and community; and via the media. This report focuses on one segment of Ghanas skills development system: formal and informal technical and vocational education and training (TVET) at the pre-tertiary level. Although TVET alone does not guarantee productivity gains or job creation, it is generally agreed that a blend of cognitive, non-cognitive, intermediate, and higher technical skills is crucial to enhance the countrys competitiveness and contribute to social inclusion, acceptable employment, and the alleviation of poverty. The public financing approach and general lack of incentives to improve TVET in Ghana help to perpetuate a supply-driven, low-quality skills system that responds very poorly to the needs of the economy, and especially its growth sectors. The national skills strategy should aim to complement, and be complemented by, reforms that are underway in related sectors (for example, private sector development and employment, the informal economy, information and communication technologies, and agriculture). One of the more innovative elements of the ongoing reform has been the establishment of sustainable financing for the skills development fund (SDF). Channeling the majority of TVET resources through a SDF will make it easier for funds to be allocated in line with general national socioeconomic priorities and specific priorities identified by Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET).
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According to World Bank and Egmont Group data, the financial intelligence units (FIUs) in at least 79 jurisdictions are authorized to postpone suspicious transactions related to money laundering, associated predicate offenses, terrorist financing, and or other criminal offenses.
... Vea más + In response to a growing demand for reliable information about the legal and operational arrangements, and about practices and challenges relevant to the use of FIU power, the World Bank and the Egmont Group decided in March 2011 to carry out a joint study of FIUs to gather more information. This report presents the results of the study, which shows the existence of a wide range of practices and arrangements, and some gaps or omissions, in respect of a number of important aspects of the FIU power to postpone suspicious transactions. The study also indicates that only a relatively small proportion of FIUs with the power to postpone suspicious transactions are regular users of the power, while a substantial number have not used the power at all during the three-year period covered by the study, or have done so infrequently. This report presents a number of recommendations to help FIU practitioners and policy makers establish or strengthen effective legal and operational mechanisms for the postponement of suspicious transactions, while taking into account the international FIU standards, and the rule of law, in order to ensure that the fundamental rights of all those concerned are effectively protected. The recommendations highlight issues and associated risks identified during the study and are meant, among other things, to facilitate the development of training and technical assistance initiatives in regard to the use of the FIU power to postpone suspicious transactions. Finally, this report includes a number of sanitized cases provided by FIUs, and, where possible, examples of FIU legal and practical arrangements related to several recommendations. In addition, appendix D provides a template for a postponement order or notice, which FIUs may wish to use as guidance when drafting postponement orders.
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Biochar is the carbon-rich organic matter that remains after heating biomass under the minimization of oxygen during a process called pyrolysis.
... Vea más + There are a number of reasons why biochar systems may be particularly relevant in developing-country contexts. This report offers a review of what is known about opportunities and risks of biochar systems. Its aim is to provide a state-of-the-art overview of current knowledge regarding biochar science. In that sense the report also offers a reconciling view on different scientific opinions about biochar providing an overall account that shows the various perspectives of its science and application. This includes soil and agricultural impacts of biochar, climate change impacts, social impacts, and competing uses of biomass. The report aims to contextualize the current scientific knowledge in order to put it at use to address the development climate change nexus, including social and environmental sustainability. The report is organized as follows: chapter one offers some introductory comments and notes the increasing interest in biochar both from a scientific and practitioner's point of view; chapter two gives further background on biochar, describing its characteristics and outlining the way in which biochar systems function. Chapter three considers the opportunities and risks of biochar systems. Based on the results of the surveys undertaken, chapter four presents a typology of biochar systems emerging in practice, particularly in the developing world. Life-cycle assessments of the net climate change impact and the net economic profitability of three biochar systems with data collected from relatively advanced biochar projects were conducted and are presented in chapter five. Chapter six investigates various aspects of technology adoption, including barriers to implementing promising systems, focusing on economics, carbon market access, and sociocultural barriers. Finally, the status of knowledge regarding biochar systems is interpreted in chapter seven to determine potential implications for future involvement in biochar research, policy, and project formulation.
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There are significant economic gains to be realized if the East Africa sub region improves the overall integration of its markets. But infrastructure development that links markets across countries faces particular challenges, political, institutional, and economic.
... Vea más + In the case of East Africa, these challenges have served to hold back investment into regional infrastructure, despite significant recent efforts within the region to develop regional infrastructure investment plans and promote an increased use of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approaches to mobilize private sector financing and expertise. The report also recommends funding options for regional PPPs. The two main products identified are a Viability Gap Facility (VGF), which would bridge the gap between the commercial viability of a regional PPP and its economic viability; and a Project Development Facility (PDF), which could support the preparation costs of regional PPPs. The VGF could potentially be linked to the EAC Development Fund. Partner States need to be aware when designing these products that they may compete for funds with domestic financing needs. The report also considers the desirability of a regional long-term debt facility, and while there is widespread recognition of the need for longer-term local currency financing, the challenges involved in implementing such a facility are such that this will need to be revisited at a future date.
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Improving access to productive employment is a key policy challenge, especially in low-income countries (LICs), where the only asset in abundance is labor.
... Vea más + Building on ongoing research on earnings mobility, this study uses unusually rich longitudinal data from Ghana and Tanzania to identify engines of, and barriers to, earnings and earnings mobility. It examines the role of individual characteristics such as gender, age, and skills and characteristics of the job, but it also focuses on the role of job switches for example, moves into and out of self-employment. It zooms in particularly on the drivers of transitions between low-paying and high-paying jobs, and addresses questions such as whether being low paid is a transitory or permanent phenomenon, and whether it has a scarring effect on an individual's employment prospects. The extent to which earnings dynamics differ for women and young adults is also discussed in detail. The cross-country comparison of earnings dynamics and labor market transitions helps shed light on the institutional factors that promote labor market mobility and entrepreneurship. The report is organized as follows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two presents a brief review of related literature. Chapter three gives a descriptive overview of the labor markets in the two countries. Chapter four examines the determinants of earnings levels. Chapter five examines determinants of earnings growth. Chapter six focuses on low-pay and high-pay transitions and analyzes whether the experience of being in a low-paying job undermines an individual's future earnings prospects. Chapter seven discusses key policy implications.
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This report, consisting of a study prepared by global project finance specialists Hunton and Williams LLP and comments from six internationally reputed economists and policy makers, provides an analytical discussion of resource financed infrastructure (RFI) contracting from a project finance perspective.
... Vea más + The report is meant as a forum for in-depth discussion and as a basis for further research into RFIs role, risks, and potential, without any intention to present a World Bank, supported view on RFI contracting. It is motivated by the conviction that if countries are to continue to either seeks RFI or receive unsolicited RFI proposals, there is an onus on public officials to discern bad deals from good, to judge unavoidable trade-offs, and to act accordingly. The report aims to provide a basis for developing insights on how RFI deals can be made subject to the same degree of public policy scrutiny as any other instrument through which a government of a low or lower-middle-income country might seek to mobilize development finance. The report also feeds into the global mainstreaming of open contracting, providing citizens with the means to engage with governments and other stakeholders on how nonrenewable resources are best managed for the public benefit. In the case of RFI, there is a very direct link made between the value of resources in the ground and the development of (infrastructure) benefits. It should not be a surprise, therefore, that the revised Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Standard, adopted in May 2013, addresses extractive transactions with an infrastructure component, including RFI.
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Over the seven years from 2004 through 2011, Cambodian economic growth was tremendous, ranking amid the best in the world. Moreover, household consumption increased by nearly 40 percent.
... Vea más + And this growth was pro-poor, not only reducing inequality, but also proportionally boosting poor people's consumption further and faster than that of the non-poor. As a result, the poverty rate dropped from 52.2 to 20.5 percent, surpassing all expectations. However, the majority of these people escaped poverty only slightly: they remain highly vulnerable, even to small shocks, which could quickly bring them back into poverty. The main drivers of poverty reduction were better prices of rice for farmers, better wages for agricultural workers, increases in salary jobs for the urban labor force, and better income for non-agricultural businesses for rural households. Improvements in health and education, as well as government investment in infrastructure, provided a favorable environment for the poor, allowing many of them to pull themselves out of poverty. Looking forward, some of these drivers of poverty reduction are likely to stall. Coupled with increased vulnerability, the present conditions create new challenges for the Royal Government of Cambodia. Furthermore, most of the improvements in Cambodia originated at very low values, thus leaving much work to better the well-being of many Cambodian households. Outstanding gains have been achieved, but it will take focus and further actions to maintain Cambodia's future growth. Most poverty in Cambodia is found in the countryside: about 90 percent of Cambodia's poor live in rural areas. To generate the maximum impact, government policies should concentrate on the productivity of the rural poor's major assets: their labor and their land.
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